Do all y'alls have a preferred seed vendor? Thinking about trying to start some veggies from seed this year.
2026 Garden Thread
- Thread starter cydnote
- Start date
I retired, but my office had two 7' tall south facing windows. I started my tomatoes the last week of January in my office. It was a hobby. I bought many varieties of seed and never established a favorite in the 8 years I did that. Last year, I bought plants and got some plants on a visit to my sister at the Lake of the Ozarks last year, those were twice as big as any greenhouse plants in Iowa in early May. No seeds last year. I like indeterminate the best just because of my limited space and if I care for them in the early frosts I can get tomatoes in October, I have done it three years in a row now. Just a hobby and a yearly goal. I live north of I-80 just a bit.
To answer a couple of questions from my perspective, my planting date on tomatoes, of course varies with weather conditions. When I do plant them in the garden, I take a clear 2 L pop bottle with the bottom, cut out and place it over the seedling, removing the cap to create a small greenhouse. This protects it from wind desiccation, and bunnies/birds. when this seedlings need more room, I removed the bottles and place a 5 gallon plastic bucket with the bottom, cut out to serve the same purpose as the plant matures. I usually start the seeds in the house in early April, but have planted directly in the garden. I may be misinformed here, but I think the maturity is more so determined by day length then planting date to a degree.
As far as a favorite vendor, I think it is more important to choose a specific variety than a seed source – – many of the box stores have a nice variety and availability. For me a few standards are blue Lake green beans, scarlet nantes carrots, and Detroit dark red beets. If you are looking for heirloom varieties, my favorite is seed savers in Decorah.
Home - SeedSavers
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange has worked to keep heirloom seeds where they belong, in our gardens and on our tables.
seedsavers.org
I grew Seed Savers salvaterra for a paste tomato last year and they were massive plants and fruit. My only issue was my cages not being big enough. No pests, no blight, and they were the size of tennis balls
Vendors like this: will be able to do a minimum of 100 seed (for the most part)
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/home
https://www.rispensseeds.com/
https://us.stokeseeds.com/online-catalog.html
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/home
https://www.rispensseeds.com/
https://us.stokeseeds.com/online-catalog.html
My first sign of success this morning. Planted on January 19 my first emerged peach tree is about a half inch tall this morning. being heated with the wood stove in these cold temperatures and not monitored as closely as a house would be the temperatures in my shop vary from 45 to 80+ degrees. I also don’t want to maintain greenhouse humanities in my shop, so watering was also going to be an issue as I couldn’t let them dry out too much, but feared over watering them causing rot. They are planted in pure compost in 2 L cut off pop bottles with drainage holes.
Turns out it wasn’t a button weed!Thats a button weed!
18 of 29 have emerged so far despite the inconsistent soil temp I am able to maintain in my shop. still plenty of time to kill them before spring.
Just ordered my Amish Paste Tomato seeds from Seed Savers.
I have a pecan tree going on 4 years old and a peach tree going on 3 years old, both grown from seed. Just stuck 'em in the dirt in October and let nature do the rest.
Thanks for the update PineClone!
I’ll add mine, the peach trees:
I’ll add mine, the peach trees:
Got a "few" seeds at our garden expo yesterday.
Probably going to do 120+ winter sowing jugs this spring.
Learned a lot about wool in the garden too which was interesting.
Probably going to do 120+ winter sowing jugs this spring.
Learned a lot about wool in the garden too which was interesting.
Wool pellets in soil mix to help with microbes, serve as slow release N and retain water. Said the unprocessed wool can be a mulch that repels rabbits and deer
With about 50 years of farming/gardening experience I've seen many unorthodox attempts of changing things up that nature does just fine with (or without): watering with organic "teas", benefits of adding coffee grounds or eggshells, etc., etc. I understand that soil disturbed during house construction or regrading original topography can delay your start, but in a gardening situation good (weed free) compost is all I've ever added. If the organic matter is sufficient, the water holding capacity of the soil is improved and it's breakdown over time will provide the nutrients needed and the biological balance of beneficial microbes to put food on the table. My garden has been in the same place for decades and I don't remember ever using commercial fertilizer on it. We are removing a few tomatoes, some bean pods, some peppers, or whatever every year--not a 250 bu corn crop. Most people I would guess add things they believe will be beneficial without testing first to even determine if their is a need and may inadvertently upset balances already in place. I tend to place an emphasis on keeping my garden weed free all the way to freeze up. I've witnessed many gardens abandoned after harvest with the result being rototilling a new crop of weed seeds in for next years battle. I don't know if you can ever deplete all the weed seed, but each year the pressure is lessoned.
Don't know why I chose to go on this rant (if it is one), just giving my perspective. Good luck with a bountiful harvest regardless how you achieve it.
Don't know why I chose to go on this rant (if it is one), just giving my perspective. Good luck with a bountiful harvest regardless how you achieve it.
Just an update on the peach tree experiment:
After success in getting the seeds germinated, potted up, and emerged and the majority growing to a height of 6-8 inches they have been committing suicide on me over the past week or so. Look fine and healthy one day--wilting and dying in the next couple of days. My best guess is it's a watering issue but unsure if it's too wet or too dry. I've enlisted the help/advice of ISU forestry extension and an ISU extension outreach horticulturalist with each of them playing the same guessing game I am. Very detailed exchanges of temp, light, soil medium, watering techniques, pictures, etc. with no definitive answers. Both have grown peaches from seed but only in outdoor natural conditions. I potted up 15 seeds and buried the pots to ground level last fall to allow mother nature to dictate things this spring so I have a fallback plan but was hoping for a jumpstart this winter. Still has been a fun experiment but not as successful as I'd hoped. Live and learn.
After success in getting the seeds germinated, potted up, and emerged and the majority growing to a height of 6-8 inches they have been committing suicide on me over the past week or so. Look fine and healthy one day--wilting and dying in the next couple of days. My best guess is it's a watering issue but unsure if it's too wet or too dry. I've enlisted the help/advice of ISU forestry extension and an ISU extension outreach horticulturalist with each of them playing the same guessing game I am. Very detailed exchanges of temp, light, soil medium, watering techniques, pictures, etc. with no definitive answers. Both have grown peaches from seed but only in outdoor natural conditions. I potted up 15 seeds and buried the pots to ground level last fall to allow mother nature to dictate things this spring so I have a fallback plan but was hoping for a jumpstart this winter. Still has been a fun experiment but not as successful as I'd hoped. Live and learn.
Did anyone have success with potatoes last year? im in central iowa, and had little to no luck. trying to decide if i want to do them again or if its not worth the effort
